A main for Southeast Asia: An Olympic decide skater

A Philippine teenager with a shy, crooked smile and expressive eyebrows — who additionally occurs to be the primary determine skater ever to characterize a Southeast Asian nation — certified for the free skate after his efficiency on Thursday.
Michael Christian Martinez, the lone athlete for the Philippines, is an unlikely competitor from a rustic with out snow.
Catapulted into the limelight after qualifying final yr, his complete dwelling nation, which has by no means received a medal within the Winter Olympics, is rooting for him.
On Thursday, he completed 19th total with a complete phase rating of 64.81 which implies he’ll transfer on to Friday’s remaining free skate.
“I’d love to qualify for the free skate [top 24]; that would be a big accomplishment for me,” Martinez, 17, stated in an interview with NBCOlympics.com previous to the competitors.

“I don’t know what placement I’ll get because my training is so different, but we’ll see.”
It’s more likely to be a David-versus-Goliath match-up. Facing medal favorites corresponding to Japan’s Yuzuru Hanyu and Canada’s Patrick Chan, who rank first and second after the brief program, Martinez has not benefited from the identical intensive coaching as a lot of his rivals.
Maria Teresa Martinez, his mom, stated her son had full coaching for 2 months earlier than arriving in Sochi due to difficulties funding his Olympic aspirations.
Ice skating is a expensive endeavor with bills for journey, equipments and coaches.
His mom instructed CNN in an e-mail that the household patched collectively donations from a neighborhood shopping center ice rink, associates and his skating membership. She stated the household’s life saving has been depleted and that their household’s farm in Luzon province had been broken by typhoons final yr.
If Martinez hadn’t certified for the Olympics in 2013, he would’ve needed to stop aggressive skating as a result of his household could not afford it, his mom added.
“Now that he qualified, we are hoping we can finally get support so he can continue, and try to qualify again in 2018, where he will be more matured and more ready physically and mentally,” she wrote.
Regardless of how he fares this week, Martinez has come a good distance.
Born in Paranaque City, Martinez was stricken with asthmatic bronchitis at two months outdated. As a younger boy, he struggled with sports activities due to his bronchial asthma assaults.